NeoSmart Technologies' ToolTipFixer 1.0.0


Recommended Posts

It happens to everything >.<

The technical explanation is that in the Win32 API, tooltips are coded to have HWND_TOPMOST as their z-index - meaning that they are on top of everything.

However, due to a series (many) (obvious) bugs and miscodings in the Windows Shell, when you perform certain actions with dialogs and Windows that are supposed to appear above current windows (like the context menu when you right click the start menu items) end up coming even above the HWND_TOPMOST entries as well - that's not supposed to happen.

Then it seems (from here on in, i'm only guessing based on what i can see) that the parent window/dialog (in this case, the start menu, then the taskbar) inherits the window status when the child is closed, and keeps it.

Think of it like Dominoes. The first window is made topmost - no problem. as it closes, it's parent takes that z-index. then its parent, and the next, and the next - until you end up with something in the same x-y plane as a HWND_TOPMOST item, and it ends up with a lower z-index; therefore obscuring that item from view.

Basically, it is something that could be avoided by properly handing off z-indexes and keeping these always under HWND_TOPMOST items.

Thanks for the explanation. This had to be one of the most annoying bugs ever in Windows XP.

Just figured out your error, punio4: you don't have the .NET 2.0 Framework installed, do you?

New version out.

Fixes glitch in the uninstall routine

Slightly improved memory management (now running at the bare-minimum really)

Improved (faster) window handling

No more t.txt

You can view full changelog at http://neosmart.net/jira/browse/TTF?report...changelog-panel

Download: http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=10

If you're upgrading from 1.0.0, it might be a good idea to run this first:

Start -> Run -> CMD.exe

cd "C:\Program Files\NeoSmart Technologies\ToolTipFixer\"
InstallUtil.exe /u ToolTipFixer.exe

If you don't, you'll have to reboot before it will work again. Future upgrades will not need this command.

Cheers!

Hmm. Runs on startup, creates a t.txt in my root, eats up 8 mb of ram, and made an unrecoverable system error after install.

Sorry, but looks rather dangerous.

Also, I don't know since when, but I don't have that problem on my computer. Tried the right click open thingy... Nothing happens.

I thought that its a patch, not something that runs in the background.. Thanks

uninstalled ... i don't think this bug worth 6-8 mb of ram.. slow machine here

I created the problem, as explained in the first post, then downloaded and ran the fix.

Got an error message during install, but rebooted and problem is fixed. Only now I discover Net framework is required, but no species of Net on this machine. Strange.

No other problems as encountered above. XP Pro SP2.

NeoSmart Technologies' ToolTipFixer 1.0.0 is a patch to address this issue that Microsoft refuses to fix: just run the (free, small) patch once, and you're set.
I'm sorry, but from your description I expected it to be a patch, not a process installer.

You should state that this is an installer for a background process that prevents the bug from occuring.

Yeah, you need .NET 2.0 installed.

Only the people with Windows' source code or those that have reverse-engineered Windows can actually patch it; so ToolTipFixer runs in the background (as a service) and intercepts calls for HWND_TOPMOST to circumvent the bug. Sorry if the description was misleading.

Muahahahha this frigging bug is a 14 old bug??? (My computer history at home started in 2003 so I missed a lot)

Like others I think it sucks a bit to have a program 24/24 for this bug, is it possible to fix the bug when it happen manually each time?

If it's possible, you could add an option in the taskbar right click to run the script to fix the bug...

Since it's not a bug that happen every now and then it could be enough.

Its just a small process that runs in the background, guys. You make it seem like it will make your PC run dog slow and consume 200mb of RAM or give you a BSOD.
No, 7MB is not a lot, that for sure. But 7mb just to fix an eventual not constant bug, that's little annoying.

(But it still less than using Vista :p )

lol, so true ;)

Anything sitting in the taskbar will waste that memory too. But what I can do (and will) is create a tiny app that DOESN'T run constantly, and you can create a shortcut in the quicklaunch bar and run it from there whenever you need.

(BTW, 6-7MB is the bare minimum for anything .NET - and that's with tons of pre- and post-build optimizations.

"Why does it have to be .NET" well, it doesn't - but the Windows API has grown appallingly bloated and buggy with all these years so I choose to code in .NET instead)

Anything sitting in the taskbar will waste that memory too. But what I can do (and will) is create a tiny app that DOESN'T run constantly, and you can create a shortcut in the quicklaunch bar and run it from there whenever you need.
Perfect (Y)

I hope you will succeed!

Put both in options at the install. (Automatic Service or Manual Fix)

Then contact Autopatcher team to add that :p

  • 5 months later...

Hi,

Just installed TTF (how friggin' ridiculous that M$ can't fix such a common and irritating bug?) and surprised to see how much memory it's using: 100MB on my machine.

I'm running a fully updated (inc. .NET 2 and 3) WinXP machine. I rebooted to see if that helped, but no.

I see someone else reports 7MB. Any suggestions why mine is so high (although I'm keeping it running even if it does 'cost' 100MB! :)).

Thanks.

There seems to be a bug:

If you leave this tool running and hit Windows+D, it also hides the taskbar. :s

It sometimes happens: if I hit Windows+D and the taskbar still remains, then I click on my desktop and quickly hit Windows+D a couple of times, the taskbar may disappear.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • So is Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, just to mention a few. What's your point? Everyone is a threat from their enemies' perspective. I'd say that Israel is only a threat to their immediate enemies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime, not to anyone else.
    • The government is not the good guy either. You propose 99% of people require that the government overreach and govern their freedom of information and privacy, while ignoring the government is made up 100% of people, of which 99% are (as you described) brain dead. You can't have both. The reality is Signal is absolutely right and the government is doing what it has always done. Ignoring that we are their boss and grabbing all the power they possibly can to make sure we aren't. Your (societies) ###### parenting is not reason enough as to why I can't have a safe platform for my data/information. Thinking the government is helping is precisely what they are targeting psychologically to take suckers like you for a ride. "Think of the children" was, has, is, and will always be a mechanism of control. In the rare occasion it's actually essential the mass consensus has always been there and it doesn't become a debate.
    • Google Chrome 149.0.7827.103 (offline installer) by Razvan Serea The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: when you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser. Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop. Chrome has many useful features built in, including automatic full-page translation and access to thousands of apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Google Chrome is one of the best solutions for Internet browsing giving you high level of security, speed and great features. Important to know! The offline installer links do not include the automatic update feature. Download web installer: Google Chrome Web 32-bit | Google Chrome 64-bit | Freeware Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 64-bit | Direct Link | 131.0 MB Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 32-bit | Direct Link | 119.0 MB Download page: Google Chrome Portable Download: Chrome ARM64 | Direct Link View: Chrome Website | Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Apple would rather delay Siri AI than open iOS to rival assistants in the EU by Pradeep Viswanathan At WWDC 2026, Apple today announced a revamped Siri AI experience for iOS and iPadOS users. However, this new Siri AI experience will not be available on iPhones and iPads in the European Union when iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 launch later this year. In a detailed press release, Apple blamed the Siri delay on the EU’s Digital Markets Act, highlighting that EU regulators did not accept its proposed solutions for bringing Siri AI to the region. Consequently, there is currently no timeline for Siri AI’s availability on iOS and iPadOS in the EU. Here is what EU users will be missing due to this delay: Siri AI, Apple’s next-generation assistant powered by Apple Intelligence A new dedicated Siri app for revisiting conversations Expanded Visual Intelligence features Integrated AI-assisted writing tools Siri mode in Camera on iOS Other system-level AI features Since the new Siri experience on watchOS 27 is dependent on an iOS 27 device, EU users will also miss out on Siri AI on watchOS 27. The most frustrating part is that even developers based in the EU will not be able to test or use the new Siri AI features for their apps on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and watchOS 27. In its press release, Apple mentioned that making Siri AI available in the EU would require the company to give other AI assistants (like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini) broad access to private user data and the ability to control installed apps. Essentially, the EU wants competing AI systems to be able to read and send messages, make purchases, access files, and perform actions across apps. To address these concerns, Apple proposed an intermediary system called Trusted System Agent. This system would have allowed other virtual assistants to access the same features as Siri AI in a safer way. However, the European Commission rejected Apple's proposals, and it is currently unclear why. The good news is that Apple stated it will continue working with EU regulators to bring Siri AI to the region. For now, however, iPhone and iPad users in the EU will have to wait. If platform gatekeepers such as Apple and Google reserve deep operating system capabilities only for their own AI assistants, rival services such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and others will be at a major disadvantage. Modern AI assistants are no longer simple chatbots. They require access to core OS-level capabilities such as reading on-screen context, interacting with installed apps, sending messages, creating calendar events, managing files, and completing user-approved actions across the device. If only Siri on iOS or Gemini on Android can access these capabilities, competing AI services will struggle to offer the same level of convenience, even if their underlying models are better. This is exactly what the European Union's DMA is trying to address. Apple and Google should be allowed to protect user privacy and security, but they should not be permitted to use those concerns as a blanket excuse to block rival AI assistants from getting fair access to core platform features. A secure permission-based framework could allow users to choose their preferred AI assistant without giving any company unrestricted access to personal data.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Very Popular
      Captain_Eric earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • One Month Later
      amusc earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      509
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      222
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      92
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      86
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      81
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!